Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects to double the investments it would finance in the water sector over the next five years. According to sources here on Tuesday, the move recognises the clear link between clean water and reducing poverty and is intended to make a significant contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
This new Water Financing Programme would greatly increase ADB's water investments for 2006-2010, which could grow to well over $2 billion annually. This would make water a core business area of ADB's operations.
They said that the new ADB programme would focus on the delivery of substantial investment, reform, and capacity development in three key areas: rural water services, urban water services and river basin water management.
They pointed out that concrete outcomes of the programme would be safe drinking water and improved sanitation for about 200 million people, improved irrigation and drainage services affecting livelihoods of 40 million people, reduced flood risk for about 100 million inhabitants in rural and urban areas, and integrated water resources management introduced in 25 river basins.
"In addition to ADB's ongoing and planned programme of water investments in countries across the region, significant increases in are expected in People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam. As part of the programme, ADB would mobilise co-financing and investments from government clients (through counterpart financing), the private sector, and multilateral and bilateral partners.
Higher levels of grant and co-financing assistance are expected to support the programme through a range of modalities," they added.
According to them, despite good progress made, the Asia and Pacific region is still falling short of targets due to rapid population growth and greatly increased urbanisation, as well as low performance in delivering water services. In 2002, about 700 million people in the region lacked access to safe water supply and some 2 billion lacked access to adequate sanitation, about 75 percent of the world's total.
"The Asia Water Watch 2015 study commissioned by ADB, WHO, UNDP, and UNESCAP estimates that annual investments of US $8 billion would be needed over the next decade to meet MDG targets for safe drinking water and sanitation alone. In addition, investments are needed in irrigation services, river basin management, flood management and mitigation, and wastewater management. A wide range of governance, institutional, social, environmental, and political issues makes this an even bigger challenge," they averred.